Laserfiche WebLink
CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK <br /> of things to move forward but I like doing a project and getting it done. No disrespect to other <br /> Administrations in the past but I didn't really see that in my tenure here. You guys, I think, are <br /> really good at listening to this Council and to the citizens saying this is what we need to do. <br /> Looking at Portage Prairie and the annexation of that and I remember my very first (Pt) months <br /> on Council, I got a call and got a couple asks for things out there like TIF and I wasn't for that <br /> annexation. If I was on Council, I wouldn't have done it because it is part of that sprawling you <br /> talked about earlier. But now that we have it and it is part of the City and we have all that <br /> infrastructure out there, fill it up. The good thing I'm seeing now is that is being filled up. I said it <br /> at budget time, but I think we need to look at where we are at with residential areas, relative to <br /> TIF, so we can use it for street lights, infrastructure, paving, curbs, sidewalks and those types of <br /> things. I think we need to do more of that and I think we are not seeing enough of that within all <br /> the TIF districts. I met with Scott the day we voted on changing the whole River West and we <br /> were walking by Elwood and Drewry's Complex and all that, but if you look at the sidewalks, <br /> curbs and lights and anything we could improve on Wilbur Street, we need to take advantage of <br /> that and do that. I think those are small projects that are really a win that would help a lot of people. <br /> Committeemember John Voorde stated, I agree. <br /> Committeemember Williams-Preston stated,Also Olive Street as it is one(1)of the main corridors. <br /> But talking about TIF in general, there have been a couple of meetings in the community. I know <br /> the NRC did one (1) and Community Forum did one (1) where we just got together and talked <br /> about TIF. We learned more about it with Don Inks and some folks with the Redevelopment <br /> Commission and such. One (1) of the things talked about there was if there was an appetite for if <br /> the Redevelopment Commission could, year by year, make a decision to allocate those dollars <br /> differently. Like maybe put some money back into the General Fund. But we want a better <br /> understanding of how by keeping the money in the TIF it actually gives us more control over how <br /> we spend those dollars rather than, as you were saying, putting it back in the General Fund. Is that <br /> something you have thought about at all? Or do you see what I'm saying? Is there a preference of <br /> how to use those dollars if we ran into something and would there ever be a reason that you would <br /> think it would make sense to put some of those dollars into the General Fund? I'm looking at some <br /> of the things like, you know,we are dealing with stuff with the Library but schools and things like <br /> that. <br /> Dr.Mueller replied,Yeah,when you put it back you get forty cents($0.40)on the dollar. We don't <br /> have enough funding for the infrastructure needs we already have, so, if we were worried about <br /> our fiscal situation in our General Fund or our other Income Tax Funds, I think we would be, and <br /> we have been, looking to relieve pressure on those funds by shifting as many of those costs over <br /> as possible. Because when we release it, we get forty cents ($0.40) on the dollar. We're looking <br /> and we've released the Douglas Road TIF the last couple of years. We've been looking to close it <br /> but there didn't seem to be a strategic need to keep that open. I think that is the critical question. <br /> What are we trying to get out of these development areas as a community? The West Side Main <br /> Streets Plan is a living document and there are a host of investments that can be made even after <br /> the next five(5)years. We've brought up a lot of neighborhood needs and we agree there are a lot <br /> of neighborhood needs we need to look at across the board. Reducing revenue sources to address <br /> those needs is clearly a poor strategy. Why would we do that? So yes, we look at it and we don't <br /> want to keep an area open that makes no sense. But of course, right when we were about to close <br /> it, there may be the project. Of course the cost the County will impose on us will have to come out <br /> EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION ' INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT <br /> 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov <br /> 15 <br />